Obtaining the proper medication is frequently a time-consuming, inefficient, and expensive process. The physician diagnoses an ailment, frequently at the physician's office, and the often-sick patient is then required to carry a handwritten, sometimes illegible, paper prescription to an often-distant grocery store, discount store or chain pharmacy to have it filled. Each of these steps underutilizes expensive professionals due to inefficient operations and administration.
Attempts to simplify this process are often stymied, however, by the necessary regulation of the dispensing of prescription medications. State and federal law requires the involvement of a registered pharmacist before the medication is provided to the patient (or other person retrieving the medication on behalf of the patient). Most physician's offices do not have a pharmacist at hand, so the trip to a pharmacy of some sort to obtain the actual medication has heretofore been necessary.